Does Weight Watchers really work? (Or actually..."Will it work for me???")

[praisefor3]

Background:

I grew up skinny. Although I didn't lose baby weight easily and I'm sure I have an above average fat ratio (I float way too easily!), I haven't had many weight issues in my life. All I want to lose is 20-25 pounds. I'm 5'6". That would put me around 130 and I'd be content. I'm well into my 40's so it's not like I'm trying to have a "hot" body - I just don't want all the fat on me. I had an unexpected pg at 42 and I just can't shirk this extra weight -not that I've tried very hard.

 

I do really like South Beach and I did that before my last pg to shed the pounds from the last baby and had kept it off fairly easy. (I'm really good at getting a "set" weight and staying there. I'm just set too high right now!) However, I'm just not in the mood for that painful first 2 weeks again.

 

My SIL who needs to lose about 100 pounds has lost about 35 on WW recently and is still going. I don't know a lot about WW. (I just have memories of attending WW when visiting my Grandmother and I think they all just went for the small town social fun. She never actually lost weight but boy was she faithful to the group. They sang songs and the one who gained the most that week had to take home a plastic pig. I'm thinking surely that doesn't really happen these days.)

 

I really doubt that I can go to meetings anyway. I hs AND work full time and I just don't commit to much else. I'm working on finding time (less excuses) to exercise so a meeting on top of that wouldn't work. I'd have to do WW online but not sure it is worth the $18 a month. I'd like to think I will just do this without any outside help but I haven't try something different or new or I won't get started.

 

After hearing my story maybe you will know if it would be a good fit/helpful/worth it for me and could advise me. I haven't forgotten my motto of "Getting thin in 2010" but it needs a new jumpstart. Thank you!

[Mynyel]

You sound somewhat like me.

 

I did do WW and lost over 20 pounds. At the time I was doing it I loved it. I don't know that I could do it again. Haven't tried so not really sure.

 

If you really want to lose it and keep it off, start walking/running. If you do that consistently 3..maybe 4 times a week 20-30 mins. You will shed it and keep it off.

 

Well as long as your not having hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, cake, ice cream, french fries and such every day :)

[Joanne]

WW will work; they have a great online program.

 

But here's my "spiel" on losing weight (or quitting smoking or {insert desired change})

 

Whatever you land on when you are ready to make and keep changes will "work". It's not the method (WW, Jenny Craig) (the smoking patch, gum, cold turkey). It's the readiness to accept the discomfort and work involved to get to the other side.

 

When you are ready, whatever method you choose will work.

[BigMamaBird]

I'm in Weight Watchers and it is working for me. It's not a diet, it's retraining yourself out of bad habits like huge portion sizes, not eating your fruits and veggies, sedentary lifestyles, etc. I've lost 20 lbs. so far and have about 25 more to go. It's been well worth it. My clothes fit better, my knees hurt less, I'm passing on better habits to my kids and my risks of cancer, heart disease and diabetes (all which run in my family) are reduced. Well worth the monthly fee in my opinion. Much cheaper than future health costs.

[Evergreen State Sue]

Singing and bringing home a plastic pig is NOT Weight Watchers. I think that is TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly). I attended TOPS meetings for a time and I thought it was more of a social group - at least the one I was in. I'm sure there are some TOPS groups that take their weight loss seriously.

 

I agree with Joanne, if you want to lose the weight and you are mentally ready for it, you can do it with any plan. The first time I went to WW I was in my 20's and lost 20 lbs. to my goal weight. Since then I have been back about 5 times with some success, but not great. I mentally wasn't ready. I'm trying to figure out how to get my head into the "game" now.

 

My best to you on achieving your goal.

[dirty ethel rackham]

WW is working for me as well. I was a skinny mini until my last baby (who is now 10 years old.) I guess it would depend on why you are overeating. I am an emotional eater and I need the meetings to keep me upbeat and on track. I tried SparkPeople (which is an excellent program), but I just wasn't disciplined enough. The meetings are only 1/2 hour. For me, the change in my relationship with food as well as portion sizes has been an important part of my success. I have lost 10% of my body weight and am within 13 lbs of my goal. I do not eat WW food - I eat normal, healthy, whole foods ... just less of the high calorie stuff and more fruits and veggies. I even lost 2 lbs on vacation, without feeling deprived.

[Night Elf]

I lost 22 lbs. with WW. The meetings helped me more than just online but that is because I had to weigh in and have numbers recorded by a person. I liked WW because I absolutely refuse to give up foods that I really like. What WW taught me was how to make better food choices and really pay attention to when, why and how much I'm eating. Since leaving WW last March, I've gained 5 lbs. back but am holding here. I'm happy with my weight.

 

As I type this, I'm eating powdered donuts. :lol: In my defense though, I'm about to go into my economics class and I need a major sugar rush to keep me awake!

 

Oh, and I overeat because food is good. I'm especially drawn to starches. I'd choose bread & butter or mashed potatos over candy any day.

Edited July 1, 2010 by Night Elf

[Frontier Mom]

Weight Watchers is working for me because of two reasons:

 

I hate to pay money to lose weight because I am undisciplined and cannot do it myself.

 

I stay motivated to lose and stick with things because I know I have to weigh in every Tuesday night.

 

For me, costing me something means I stay with it. I want to be a healthy weight. So far, I have lost 31 lbs and have 11 to go to get to my goal weight. My motivation: I don't want to be the mom I see at 4-H & youth events that can hardly make it anywhere because of their weight and bad health. I want to be as healthy as possible to enjoy life with my dcs.

 

I like WW because you don't have to cook two meals. You just learn to eat healthier and watch portion control. I want this to be a lifestyle, not just a diet. WW works for me. I tried just doing the program online but it wasn't motivating enough for me. I have to go to the weigh in and attend the meetings to stay on track. Of all the things I spend my time doing, I feel WW ultimately is a huge payoff for my family. How much time would it cost everyone if my health is bad? And, what a good use of time to teach your dcs to stay motivated to something and they see me struggling with weight like they might with other things like sports teams, academics, etc. For us, it has been worth the time.

[mktkcb]

Of course it will work. If you make it work....any program that gets you to eat less and move more will work. With a very few exceptions. However, save yourself some money and go to sparkpeople.com. It is just as good a resource as WW online, and it is free. I've lost over 20 lbs this year, and on my way to losing the other 35 :o). Knock on wood :o). JMO.

Kayleen

[LuvToRead]

I did something very similar to WW, and lost weight. Then I had kids. I just recently lost 15 pounds doing sparkpeople.com.

[jenn&charles]

I lost 23 pounds with WW last year (and Wii Fit). I didn't go to any meetings and didn't have any accountability online or anything like that. My mom gave me a couple of the booklets that have food points listed and a points calculator. I also used this one I found online:

http://www.meganandjack.com/points_calculator.htm

I kept track of my points in a word document I made.

It is the ONLY thing that's worked for me long term. Not only did I lose weight, but I've kept it off.

I just decided to start it up again.

The thing about WW that I LOVE is that I can eat anything I want so it doesn't feel like dieting. It's more about becoming aware of portion sizes and how to better manage what I eat. I save up my extra points for the weekend for junk like Twinkies or candy or fast food. :D

With other diets, I would start craving something I wasn't allowed to have and that just did NOT work for me. All it did was make me cranky and then I quit.

WW is easy to do (if you don't mind keeping track of your food) and it's easy to keep going with it even when you mess up. Messing up doesn't destroy all your hard work (as it does with Atkins where you have to start completely over).

Anyway, I really like it.

[mktkcb]

I'll ditto this with Sparkpeople. I like it because I can eat whatever I want. When I log in my food every day, it keeps track of all the %s of nutrients etc. When you have put in your weight goals, and gotten yourself set up, it has a recommended calorie range, plus recommended %s of things like protein, fat, carb. You can easily see at a glance whether A) you are in range calorie wise, or B) if you are eating the proper % of carb vs protein vs fat etc. It is very flexible, and you can track whatever nutrients you want (sodium, fiber, .....). makes it really easy. I actually prefer it to counting points, because figuring points is just another step, and with this, I can skip that step, iykwim. Love it love it. I haven't used it religiously since I got in gear. Some days I just wing it, but at least on those days, I have an idea of what I should eat, amount wise, from experience.

[GraciebytheBay]

Weight Watchers works great IF you work at it! It is basically common sense - eat less (or eat smarter) and move more. I find that it helps to have the accountability of WW every so often to help me get or stay motivated.

[Gooblink]

Well, here's how Weight Watchers worked for me: I attended the meetings and watched as other people lost weight. :)

[smrtmama]

I lost a lot of weight, but once I stopped the plan, a lot of it came back on.

[Guest rubilynne4]

WW will work; they have a great online program.

 

But here's my "spiel" on losing weight (or quitting smoking or {insert desired change})

 

Whatever you land on when you are ready to make and keep changes will "work". It's not the method (WW, Jenny Craig) (the smoking patch, gum, cold turkey). It's the readiness to accept the discomfort and work involved to get to the other side.

 

When you are ready, whatever method you choose will work.

:iagree: ww didn't work for me, but that's because i didn't work it. i found another program that did work, but the reality is that it worked because i stuck to it, and worked it. when i stopped working it, the weight came back. it's a lifestyle change really. you have to be of the mentality that it's a lifelong change. also, the goal, i think, should be to be healthy, not just lose weight. just mho

[my2kidsmom]

Another vote for sparkpeople.com. I started in April and have lost 27 lbs so far!

[vmsurbat]

I do really like South Beach and I did that before my last pg to shed the pounds from the last baby and had kept it off fairly easy. (I'm really good at getting a "set" weight and staying there. I'm just set too high right now!) However, I'm just not in the mood for that painful first 2 weeks again.

 

After hearing my story maybe you will know if it would be a good fit/helpful/worth it for me and could advise me. I haven't forgotten my motto of "Getting thin in 2010" but it needs a new jumpstart. Thank you!

 

Why not just start South Beach again but skip the painful 2 weeks part? The main diet plan provides the good eating habits for losing and keeping weight off and you know you can do that since you've successfully followed that way of eating before....

 

Just a thought,